King Lear, ACT V - Scene III. quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. As she and Lear are brought in as prisoners, what does Cordelia ask?

   • Correct answer: Whether they will be allowed to see Goneril and Regan
   • Whether Edmund will let her sail home to France
   • Whether the soldiers will spare the old King's life
   • Whether Albany knows that the two have been captured

   Cordelia asks, 'Shall we not see these daughters and these sisters?' and Lear answers 'No, no, no, no!'

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2. 2

   Question 2. What does Edmund tell the Captain about being 'tender-minded'?

   • That it is the true mark of a noble soldier
   • Correct answer: That it does not suit a man who carries a sword
   • That it will earn the Captain a pardon later on
   • That it is needed when guarding an aged, weak king

   Edmund says 'To be tender-minded / Does not become a sword,' pressing the Captain to carry out the order without question.

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3. 3

   Question 3. How does Regan respond publicly as she and Goneril quarrel over Edmund?

   • She orders her soldiers to seize Goneril on the spot
   • She asks Albany to judge between her and her sister
   • Correct answer: She declares Edmund her lord and master before all
   • She demands that Edmund say which sister he prefers

   Regan gives Edmund her soldiers, prisoners and patrimony, calling on the world to witness that she makes him 'My lord and master.'

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4. 4

   Question 4. What does Albany throw down after naming Edmund a traitor?

   • His sword, as a sign of surrender to the law
   • A royal seal, as proof of his own authority
   • Goneril's letter, as proof of the whole plot
   • Correct answer: His glove, as a pledge to fight Edmund himself

   Albany says 'There is my pledge' and throws down a glove, vowing to prove the treason on Edmund's heart if no one else appears.

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5. 5

   Question 5. Why does Albany tell Edmund to 'Trust to thy single virtue'?

   • Correct answer: His soldiers, raised in Albany's name, have been discharged
   • His soldiers have already fled after the long, hard-fought battle
   • His soldiers have sworn their loyalty to Regan alone
   • His soldiers refuse to fight against the old King

   Albany reveals that Edmund's soldiers, 'All levied in my name, have in my name / Took their discharge,' so Edmund must fight alone.

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6. 6

   Question 6. According to Edgar, what did Gloucester's blinding repay?

   • Trusting the advice of his scheming steward Oswald
   • Correct answer: Fathering Edmund in a 'dark and vicious place'
   • Banishing Kent without hearing his defense
   • Giving his lands to Edmund before his death

   Edgar says the gods use 'our pleasant vices' to scourge us: the place where Gloucester begot Edmund 'Cost him his eyes.'

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7. 7

   Question 7. How does Edgar answer when the Herald asks his name?

   • He gives a false name to hide who he truly is
   • He says he will reveal it only after the fight
   • Correct answer: He says his name is lost, gnawed away by treason
   • He says a knight's honor needs no name at all

   Edgar replies, 'Know my name is lost; / By treason's tooth bare-gnawn and canker-bit,' yet claims to be as noble as his opponent.

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8. 8

   Question 8. What does Edmund's remark 'Yet Edmund was belov'd' most suggest about him?

   • His guilt over driving the two sisters to their deaths
   • His fear that Albany will blame him for both deaths
   • His wish to be buried beside the sister he loved best
   • Correct answer: His hunger to be valued, even when it ruins others

   The scorned illegitimate son takes a bleak comfort in having been loved so much that one sister poisoned the other for his sake.

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9. 9

   Question 9. What does 'puissant' mean in: 'His grief grew puissant, and the strings of life'?

   • Quiet and well hidden
   • Bitter and full of resentment
   • Correct answer: Mighty or overpowering
   • Slow and fading away

   Puissant means powerful; Kent's grief grows so strong that it begins to crack the strings of his life.

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10. 10

    Question 10. What does 'fordid' mean in: 'That she fordid herself.'?

    • Forbade others to help
    • Correct answer: Killed or destroyed
    • Fled the prison in secret
    • Forgave all her enemies

    Fordid means destroyed; Edmund's plan was to make Cordelia's hanging look like suicide.

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11. 11

    Question 11. What does 'Maugre' mean in: 'Maugre thy strength, youth, place, and eminence,'?

    • Correct answer: In spite of
    • Because of
    • Far beyond
    • Without any

    Maugre is an old word for 'in spite of'; Edgar calls Edmund a traitor despite all his power and success.

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12. 12

    Question 12. Which of these events happen in the first half of the scene?

    • Lear refuses to see Goneril and Regan before going to prison.

      Happened

    • Cordelia kneels and begs Edmund to spare her father.

      Didn't happen

    • Albany calls Edmund a 'Half-blooded fellow.'

      Happened

    • Regan is led off to Albany's tent, complaining of sickness.

      Happened

    • Edmund demands the armed knight's name before agreeing to fight.

      Didn't happen

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13. 13

    Question 13. Which of these events happen after Edmund is defeated?

    • A Gentleman rushes in carrying a bloody knife.

      Happened

    • Edgar says he left Kent in a trance after hearing his story.

      Happened

    • Edmund dies on stage while Lear looks on.

      Didn't happen

    • Lear says he killed the man who was hanging Cordelia.

      Happened

    • Albany orders the Captain who hanged Cordelia to be executed.

      Didn't happen

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